A BC Supreme Court judge in Prince George acquitted a Kwadacha man of second degree murder on June 17 because he was too drunk to form the intent to kill his wife.
But Justice Sandra Sukstorf found Brent Angus McCook guilty of manslaughter, because it was beyond reasonable doubt that he fired the shots at the vehicle in which Rochelle Poole was sitting on Jan. 24, 2023.
For reasons unknown, McCook loaded his .308 calibre Tikka rifle and discharged it twice from within the residence in the town, also known as Fort Ware, towards his parked truck outside. Two bullets passed through the windshield. One fatally struck Poole in the head.
“There's no direct evidence of foresight or deliberation,” Sukstorf said in her oral verdict. “There's no indication Mr. McCook saw Miss Poole in the vehicle, no suggestion of motive or prior conflict, and no evidence that he targeted her.”
McCook’s lawyers asserted that he was so extremely drunk at the time that he was “unable to form the intention necessary to support a conviction of murder,” Sukstorf said.
Sukstorf said that, over the course of 17 consecutive hours, beginning Jan. 23, 2023, “McCook consumed excessive amounts of alcohol, witnesses described the alcohol's physical and behavioural impact on Mr. McCook becoming increasingly pronounced over the time period in question.”
McCook did not testify, so there was direct evidence about his state of mind or intent at the time of the shooting. Sukstorf said it is common sense that, the more impaired someone becomes, the greater the likelihood that their conduct may become uninhibited or unintended. They may not understand the consequences of their actions.
An RCMP officer testified that, after his arrest, McCook needed assistance at the detachment in getting undressed. He was capable of walking and speaking, but his cognitive abilities were notably compromised and he made a series of incoherent statements.
An officer testified that McCook was too drunk to understand what was being communicated to him and he made “emotional and nonsensical remarks,” including telling a constable that “he loved him and wanted to honour him for his service.”
Sukstorf ordered pre-sentencing reports, including an analysis of the impact of McCook’s Indigenous heritage, with a deadline of Sept. 22, the day that she set a hearing to fix dates for McCook’s sentencing.
The Criminal Code says that, when a firearm is used to commit manslaughter, the minimum punishment is four years and the maximum sentence is life in prison.
